Published in the Courier-Tribune on July 23, 2011
by Hugh Martin
CANDOR — For the second year in a row, Candor water customers will see the cost of water go up.
During the regular meeting July 11, the Candor Board of Commissioners approved a water rate increase and decided sewer rates will remain the same.
Last year the town was forced to raise rates due to an increase from Montgomery County, which operates the countywide water system.
The increase this year was recommended by Larry Pierce of Tritech Civil Environmental in Asheboro. Tritech evaluates the water system for Candor. An increase of $1.20, which will take effect with the September 2011 water bill, will raise the minimum bill for customers from $36 to $37.20.
The increase was not passed without comment. Commissioner Tim Privett stated that if the increase is approved he would like to see it remain steady for the next four or five years.
“We need to give the residents a break,” he said. “We just raised rates last year.”
On another matter, commissioners discussed a request from Brad Haynes, who asked the town to contribute $150 to the Sandhills All Stars youth baseball team for uniforms. The team competed in a district tournament but lost on June 26.
Privett suggested that, since they were no longer playing, the town only contribute 50 percent of the request. Commissioner Phillip Hearne agreed, while Commissioner Leslie Thomas suggested that the other 50 percent be held in case any of the other local teams go to state tournaments.
Commissioners approved the contribution of $75 to the team. Following the vote, Mayor Richard Britt asked Clerk Tammy Kellis to note in the minutes that he would personally make up the additional $75 to bring the contribution to the amount requested.
During the discussion, Privett told the board that he had tried to contact Kellis to discuss the baseball request but had been unable to reach her. Instead, he said that he had been connected with the former clerk who now works in another capacity in the town’s office. Privett said he expected to speak to Kellis on town matters.
In other business, Commissioners Privett, Hearne, Thomas, Layton Booker and Tim Smith:
• Heard an update on the work on a proposed Personnel Policy from Management Advisor John Gowan.
• Were given an update by Thomas on the Peach Festival.
• Discussed expansion of the farmers’ market.
• Heard an update from Gowan on the permitting process for the proposed bio-mass energy plant at the Mountaire facility. The town’s Planning Board still needs to meet on the request.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tour features seven area farms ♥
Published in the Courier-Tribune on July 21, 2011
by Hugh Martin
TROY — On Saturday, the first Sandhills Farm Tour will feature farm operations in Montgomery, Richmond and Moore counties.
Danelle McKnight, horticulture agent for the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Montgomery, is coordinating the tour with agents Paige Burns from Richmond and Taylor Williams from Moore.
The tour will showcase local fruits, vegetables and livestock at the following farms:
• Vang Farm, 189 Beaman Road, Troy.
Touger Vang is experimenting with using high tunnels, similar to large greenhouse structures, to extend his growing season to include the colder winter months. His six-acre farm is loaded with vegetables, herbs and livestock.
• Hilltop Angus Farm, 1708 Pee Dee Road, Mt. Gilead.
Dale and Sharon Thompson raise grass-fed beef on their 170-acre farm.
“We are excited to offer consumers an alternative to conventional beef,” Dale said, explaining conventional beef is fed grain for the last few months of their lives to increase the weight, but he says research shows doing so causes the meat to lose most of its healthy benefits.
• Hope Farms, Pekin community.
Ed and Sheila Menendez and their son live in an 1890 farmhouse.
“We are trying to live as simply as possible,” Sheila said. “We believe in the connection we have with our animals, the land, and ultimately, our food. We do everything as naturally as possible. When you come to Hope Farms you'll see about 100 chickens, five ducks, three pigs, a Dexter Cow, three horses and two herding dogs, but most of all we are just a family.”
• Clayton Orchard, 289 Research Farm Road, Norman.
The farm is operated by Andy and Ann Clayton, descendants of Dr. Carlyle N. Clayton and his wife, Adelaide, who started the farm in the mid-1970s. Dr. Clayton was a plant pathologist at N.C. State University and worked to develop many of the peach varieties grown in the southeastern United States, including Winblo, Norman, Candor and Clayton, which was named in his honor.
• Dewitt’s Game Farm & Dewitt’s Outdoor Sports, 773 Jimmy Carriker Road, Ellerbe.
Chris Dewitt started the business because he said in high school he wished he could hunt for a living. His dream has come true by raising game birds and offering hunts on his 600-acre farm.
• Triple L Farms, 2205 Derby Road, Derby.
Jim and Joe Lambeth operate the farm. Marcia Lambeth handles the sales end and can usually be found working at the produce stand. The Lambeths call Derby the “garden spot of the world.” Their mission is to “keep the family farm alive and to share its products with others.”
Triple L grows vegetables, fruits, berries and flowers. They offer activities on the first Saturday from May through August, including Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Day in Derby on Aug. 6.
• Shadow Hill Farm & Kennel, 1723 Belford Church Road. In February 2010, one of owner Jane Bright’s Shetland Sheepdogs named Shadow Hill’s Star Chaser won Best of Breed at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City.
***
The Sandhills Farm Tour takes place from 3-7 p.m. on Saturday. Advance tickets are $10 per carload. On the day of the tour, $15 per carload.
Tickets are available from the N.C. Cooperative Extension offices in Montgomery, Richmond and Moore through Friday. On the day of the tour, tickets may be purchased at any of the seven farms.
For more information, call (910) 576-6011.
by Hugh Martin
TROY — On Saturday, the first Sandhills Farm Tour will feature farm operations in Montgomery, Richmond and Moore counties.
Danelle McKnight, horticulture agent for the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Montgomery, is coordinating the tour with agents Paige Burns from Richmond and Taylor Williams from Moore.
The tour will showcase local fruits, vegetables and livestock at the following farms:
• Vang Farm, 189 Beaman Road, Troy.
Touger Vang is experimenting with using high tunnels, similar to large greenhouse structures, to extend his growing season to include the colder winter months. His six-acre farm is loaded with vegetables, herbs and livestock.
• Hilltop Angus Farm, 1708 Pee Dee Road, Mt. Gilead.
Dale and Sharon Thompson raise grass-fed beef on their 170-acre farm.
“We are excited to offer consumers an alternative to conventional beef,” Dale said, explaining conventional beef is fed grain for the last few months of their lives to increase the weight, but he says research shows doing so causes the meat to lose most of its healthy benefits.
• Hope Farms, Pekin community.
Ed and Sheila Menendez and their son live in an 1890 farmhouse.
“We are trying to live as simply as possible,” Sheila said. “We believe in the connection we have with our animals, the land, and ultimately, our food. We do everything as naturally as possible. When you come to Hope Farms you'll see about 100 chickens, five ducks, three pigs, a Dexter Cow, three horses and two herding dogs, but most of all we are just a family.”
• Clayton Orchard, 289 Research Farm Road, Norman.
The farm is operated by Andy and Ann Clayton, descendants of Dr. Carlyle N. Clayton and his wife, Adelaide, who started the farm in the mid-1970s. Dr. Clayton was a plant pathologist at N.C. State University and worked to develop many of the peach varieties grown in the southeastern United States, including Winblo, Norman, Candor and Clayton, which was named in his honor.
• Dewitt’s Game Farm & Dewitt’s Outdoor Sports, 773 Jimmy Carriker Road, Ellerbe.
Chris Dewitt started the business because he said in high school he wished he could hunt for a living. His dream has come true by raising game birds and offering hunts on his 600-acre farm.
• Triple L Farms, 2205 Derby Road, Derby.
Jim and Joe Lambeth operate the farm. Marcia Lambeth handles the sales end and can usually be found working at the produce stand. The Lambeths call Derby the “garden spot of the world.” Their mission is to “keep the family farm alive and to share its products with others.”
Triple L grows vegetables, fruits, berries and flowers. They offer activities on the first Saturday from May through August, including Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Day in Derby on Aug. 6.
• Shadow Hill Farm & Kennel, 1723 Belford Church Road. In February 2010, one of owner Jane Bright’s Shetland Sheepdogs named Shadow Hill’s Star Chaser won Best of Breed at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City.
***
The Sandhills Farm Tour takes place from 3-7 p.m. on Saturday. Advance tickets are $10 per carload. On the day of the tour, $15 per carload.
Tickets are available from the N.C. Cooperative Extension offices in Montgomery, Richmond and Moore through Friday. On the day of the tour, tickets may be purchased at any of the seven farms.
For more information, call (910) 576-6011.
Montgomery farmer merges tradition with technology ♥
Published in the Courier-Tribune on July 21, 2011
by Hugh Martin
TROY — Touger Vang has come a long way since 1983, when his family left their native Laos as refugees following the Vietnam War.
He and his family are now farming six acres on Beaman Road, near Troy, with a mixture of Hmong tradition and modern technology.
Vang, 38, is a 1992 graduate of West Montgomery High School. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he works as an administrative assistant in the Department of Library and Information Studies and is working toward a master’s degree in Library Information. He divides his time between Greensboro and the farm, where his parents live.
The Vang family consists of father, Neng; mother, Yer; and their eight sons and one daughter. His brother, Touber, is a medical doctor with a family practice in Troy and another brother Tou “Thai” Vang is an assistant district attorney in Stanly County. Other family members live in the Seagrove area, while his only sister lives in Michigan.
“All of the family works on the farm,” Touger says.
After coming to the United States, the family lived in Alabama and Michigan before settling in North Carolina. Vang says that the climate in this area is much like their homeland of Xieng Khon, Laos.
Vang grows vegetables, herbs and livestock on nearly every spot of earth on the property that his family purchased from neighbors in 1992. Many plants that locals may consider to be weeds will have a use for the family and the people that purchase their products.
If you’re looking for nice, straight rows with acre upon acre of monoculture corn, wheat or soybeans, then you won’t find it on Vang’s farm. Every available inch is covered with plants.
“My father taught me to use all the space we have available to grow on,” he said. “When driving through cities you can tell where the Hmong families live because of the vegetable gardens in their front yards.”
Vang said two women take the produce to the flea market in Thomasville where there is a larger Asian population.
The herbs that are grown have both culinary and medicinal uses. A walk through the property brings discoveries of both common and more exotic plants. Duck feet herb, many different kinds of peppers, cilantro, gourds and more unusual plants are located all over. Luffa gourds hang from the trees.
Vang said his father does not believe in buying seeds, so seeds are saved year-to-year.
“He believes that destiny plays a part in what we grow — that a plant will grow if it’s meant to be. We share a lot of our seeds and knowledge with others because we want everyone to share in the successes.”
Vang enjoys showing his yard-long green beans, red okra with edible leaves, bitter gourds, chaote squash, lemongrass and Hmong cucumbers, which do not ripen until they reach a size not much smaller than a football. The Hmong cucumber has a mild flavor.
Vang has hundreds of vines loaded with the vegetables.
“I saw a seed catalog that sells the Hmong cucumber seed. They were charging $3 for five seeds!” he said, laughing.
Lemongrass root is boiled to make a tea that reduces fever. Cannas, thought to be pretty and ornamental here, are said to help heal injuries when the crushed root is mixed with lemongrass or cilantro, steamed, then made into a poultice.
Vang grows pumpkins and the family eats the plant tips as well as young pumpkins and flowers.
A row of tall Rose of Sharon hibiscus plants grows near the front of the property. The roots of the plant are used as medicine.
“I’ve had people drive by here and offer to buy the plants,” he said. “We are glad to share the small sprouts, but my father planted these when we came here and he does not want to sell them.”
What appear to be weeds have a purpose for Vang.
“This is pigweed that we use to stir fry or boil. Poke weed root is good for medicine, but you have to be careful because parts of the plant are poisonous after a certain age,” Vang said.
Pigweed and poke weed are considered a noxious weed by most farmers.
Plants that he considers weeds are hand-pulled or chopped out with a hoe. Chemical pest control is kept to a minimum and is used only as a last resort.
“We have a lot of deer, but my brother likes to hunt them, so we let them stay.”
Vang identified a green vine growing across a fence as a type of running spinach.
“The leaves of this vine will heal cuts. We can’t apply it directly to a cut because it will heal the skin faster than the wound underneath, so we ingest the leaves so that it will heal from the inside out.
“I tell these remedies with respect for my brother as a doctor,” said Vang.
“I was not keen on traditional medicine until I visited Thailand for fifteen months in 2004. I have learned that much of the Western medicines don’t work,” he added.
The family practices the traditional methods of farming that they brought with them; however, Touger has started incorporating new technologies into the mix.
Dr. Manuel Reyes, Associate Professor, Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Design at N.C. A&T University, is conducting research on the Vang farm use of high tunnels.
Vang has installed two of the greenhouse-like structures on his farm, which will help extend his growing season through the winter, essentially allowing him to grow vegetables year-round.
The high tunnels have sensors installed that send messages via radio frequency to a computer that processes the information for the A&T researchers.
One of the research projects has tomatoes planted through holes in a plastic sheet. Data is collected data on the shade-growing process called “agro-forestry.” Shannon Creason, a graduate student, works the high tunnels, collecting the tomatoes and recording data.
“It’s hot work, but we are gathering a lot of information,” she said.
Vang said that he is learning from the process, that he wouldn’t have thought of the plastic ground cover or trellises for the tomatoes.
Preparing the food that is harvested from the property is another interesting part of the Hmong culture.
“We had never experienced stewing vegetables,” Vang said, referring to the Southern practice of stewing collards, cabbage or turnip greens. “We always stew meat with our vegetables. We use as much of the animal as we can. We do not like to see good food go to waste.”
The Vang family does not go to the supermarket from March until late October because they produce everything that they eat on the farm.
by Hugh Martin
TROY — Touger Vang has come a long way since 1983, when his family left their native Laos as refugees following the Vietnam War.
He and his family are now farming six acres on Beaman Road, near Troy, with a mixture of Hmong tradition and modern technology.
Vang, 38, is a 1992 graduate of West Montgomery High School. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he works as an administrative assistant in the Department of Library and Information Studies and is working toward a master’s degree in Library Information. He divides his time between Greensboro and the farm, where his parents live.
The Vang family consists of father, Neng; mother, Yer; and their eight sons and one daughter. His brother, Touber, is a medical doctor with a family practice in Troy and another brother Tou “Thai” Vang is an assistant district attorney in Stanly County. Other family members live in the Seagrove area, while his only sister lives in Michigan.
“All of the family works on the farm,” Touger says.
After coming to the United States, the family lived in Alabama and Michigan before settling in North Carolina. Vang says that the climate in this area is much like their homeland of Xieng Khon, Laos.
Vang grows vegetables, herbs and livestock on nearly every spot of earth on the property that his family purchased from neighbors in 1992. Many plants that locals may consider to be weeds will have a use for the family and the people that purchase their products.
If you’re looking for nice, straight rows with acre upon acre of monoculture corn, wheat or soybeans, then you won’t find it on Vang’s farm. Every available inch is covered with plants.
“My father taught me to use all the space we have available to grow on,” he said. “When driving through cities you can tell where the Hmong families live because of the vegetable gardens in their front yards.”
Vang said two women take the produce to the flea market in Thomasville where there is a larger Asian population.
The herbs that are grown have both culinary and medicinal uses. A walk through the property brings discoveries of both common and more exotic plants. Duck feet herb, many different kinds of peppers, cilantro, gourds and more unusual plants are located all over. Luffa gourds hang from the trees.
Vang said his father does not believe in buying seeds, so seeds are saved year-to-year.
“He believes that destiny plays a part in what we grow — that a plant will grow if it’s meant to be. We share a lot of our seeds and knowledge with others because we want everyone to share in the successes.”
Vang enjoys showing his yard-long green beans, red okra with edible leaves, bitter gourds, chaote squash, lemongrass and Hmong cucumbers, which do not ripen until they reach a size not much smaller than a football. The Hmong cucumber has a mild flavor.
Vang has hundreds of vines loaded with the vegetables.
“I saw a seed catalog that sells the Hmong cucumber seed. They were charging $3 for five seeds!” he said, laughing.
Lemongrass root is boiled to make a tea that reduces fever. Cannas, thought to be pretty and ornamental here, are said to help heal injuries when the crushed root is mixed with lemongrass or cilantro, steamed, then made into a poultice.
Vang grows pumpkins and the family eats the plant tips as well as young pumpkins and flowers.
A row of tall Rose of Sharon hibiscus plants grows near the front of the property. The roots of the plant are used as medicine.
“I’ve had people drive by here and offer to buy the plants,” he said. “We are glad to share the small sprouts, but my father planted these when we came here and he does not want to sell them.”
What appear to be weeds have a purpose for Vang.
“This is pigweed that we use to stir fry or boil. Poke weed root is good for medicine, but you have to be careful because parts of the plant are poisonous after a certain age,” Vang said.
Pigweed and poke weed are considered a noxious weed by most farmers.
Plants that he considers weeds are hand-pulled or chopped out with a hoe. Chemical pest control is kept to a minimum and is used only as a last resort.
“We have a lot of deer, but my brother likes to hunt them, so we let them stay.”
Vang identified a green vine growing across a fence as a type of running spinach.
“The leaves of this vine will heal cuts. We can’t apply it directly to a cut because it will heal the skin faster than the wound underneath, so we ingest the leaves so that it will heal from the inside out.
“I tell these remedies with respect for my brother as a doctor,” said Vang.
“I was not keen on traditional medicine until I visited Thailand for fifteen months in 2004. I have learned that much of the Western medicines don’t work,” he added.
The family practices the traditional methods of farming that they brought with them; however, Touger has started incorporating new technologies into the mix.
Dr. Manuel Reyes, Associate Professor, Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Design at N.C. A&T University, is conducting research on the Vang farm use of high tunnels.
Vang has installed two of the greenhouse-like structures on his farm, which will help extend his growing season through the winter, essentially allowing him to grow vegetables year-round.
The high tunnels have sensors installed that send messages via radio frequency to a computer that processes the information for the A&T researchers.
One of the research projects has tomatoes planted through holes in a plastic sheet. Data is collected data on the shade-growing process called “agro-forestry.” Shannon Creason, a graduate student, works the high tunnels, collecting the tomatoes and recording data.
“It’s hot work, but we are gathering a lot of information,” she said.
Vang said that he is learning from the process, that he wouldn’t have thought of the plastic ground cover or trellises for the tomatoes.
Preparing the food that is harvested from the property is another interesting part of the Hmong culture.
“We had never experienced stewing vegetables,” Vang said, referring to the Southern practice of stewing collards, cabbage or turnip greens. “We always stew meat with our vegetables. We use as much of the animal as we can. We do not like to see good food go to waste.”
The Vang family does not go to the supermarket from March until late October because they produce everything that they eat on the farm.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Star will sell medical building ♥
Published in the Courier-Tribune on July 16, 2011
by Hugh Martin
STAR — In a brief meeting Monday, the Star Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to sell the vacant Star Medical Clinic building, which has been empty since David Buckland, P.A. moved his practice to Asheboro last year.
The board approved advertising the property, located at 128 Okeewemee Road, for sale by sealed bid. An independent appraiser has valued the property at $251,000. It has a tax value of $261,000.
Anyone who is interested in the property can contact Star Town Hall at (910) 428-4623.
Mayor Susan Eggleston said the board would meet Aug. 22 to open bids.
In other business, commissioners James Parker, Richard Hinson, George Kivett, Jennifer Fountain and Alice Clemens:
• Awarded an engineering contract to Hobbs, Upchurch & Associates to plan the wastewater extension to the Carolina Growler property north of town. The town received a $500,000 grant for the extension.
• Heard that officials from the Rural Advancement Foundation International — USA (RAFI) will visit the “Pink House” Heritage Center on July 26. RAFI awarded the town a $30,000 grant to refurbish the property for use by the Star Heritage Committee.
• Were advised by Eggleston that the Farmers Market was operating every Tuesday from 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. at the Heritage Center site. She encouraged people to come out and support the market every week and said that such support would attract more vendors.
• Learned that the town’s STEP (Small Towns Economic Prosperity Program) committee will meet 6 p.m. July 18 at the Star Town Hall and plans to make presentations in August on the projects that are being developed.
by Hugh Martin
STAR — In a brief meeting Monday, the Star Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to sell the vacant Star Medical Clinic building, which has been empty since David Buckland, P.A. moved his practice to Asheboro last year.
The board approved advertising the property, located at 128 Okeewemee Road, for sale by sealed bid. An independent appraiser has valued the property at $251,000. It has a tax value of $261,000.
Anyone who is interested in the property can contact Star Town Hall at (910) 428-4623.
Mayor Susan Eggleston said the board would meet Aug. 22 to open bids.
In other business, commissioners James Parker, Richard Hinson, George Kivett, Jennifer Fountain and Alice Clemens:
• Awarded an engineering contract to Hobbs, Upchurch & Associates to plan the wastewater extension to the Carolina Growler property north of town. The town received a $500,000 grant for the extension.
• Heard that officials from the Rural Advancement Foundation International — USA (RAFI) will visit the “Pink House” Heritage Center on July 26. RAFI awarded the town a $30,000 grant to refurbish the property for use by the Star Heritage Committee.
• Were advised by Eggleston that the Farmers Market was operating every Tuesday from 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. at the Heritage Center site. She encouraged people to come out and support the market every week and said that such support would attract more vendors.
• Learned that the town’s STEP (Small Towns Economic Prosperity Program) committee will meet 6 p.m. July 18 at the Star Town Hall and plans to make presentations in August on the projects that are being developed.
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